The Washington Redskins don’t have a ton of cap room to make big splashes in free agency this year with major names like Le’Veon Bell.
But this is the Washington Redskins, of course.
No strangers to big moves on the open market — for better or worse — the idea the Redskins might swing for the fences with a player like Bell is not exactly out of character.
It’s interesting, then, to see Peter King of Pro Football Talk bring up the idea:
Le’Veon to the Jets? New York, with $116 million in cap room and the motivation to spend with a GM who has to win this year, is the favorite to sign Bell. I can’t see Bell to the Colts except at a discount, and Bell will be motivated to make up what he lost last year (which he’ll never do). Smart football people think the Jets are the leaders in the Bell derby, with Washington and Miami possible too.
This could simply be throwing things out there to see what sticks on King’s part, sure. But the New York Jets are one of the obvious destinations for Bell and the Miami Dolphins aren’t exactly known for making the best decisions, either.
Bell doesn’t make any sense for the Redskins, of course. They spent a big draft asset on Derrius Guice and got big production from Adrian Peterson last year. The latter figures to come back.
But to play devil’s advocate, Guice is an unknown coming off a season-ending injury, Chris Thompson can’t stay healthy and Peterson isn’t a lock to be back.
So maybe there is more here. How the Redskins would free up the cap space to make Bell likely the highest-paid running back in football is hard to figure out.
But, Bell is 27 years old in the middle of his prime, one of the best backs in football and just had a year off to rest — his coming to the Redskins would be exciting, at least.
